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For the price, this unit seemed terrific, until I had the experience of living with it. I purchased two, one refurbished and one used. The used one started to spontaneously lose all power after a few weeks--the only way I could avoid this was to leave it on 24/7 (the timer works regardless whether it is on or in standby). Finally, it stopped working altogether. The refurbished one lasted longer (about six months), though it had intermittent, minor annoyances: sometimes it would lock up while in timer mode, and the only way to get it working again was to unplug it for a few seconds, then replug it. Of course, anything programmed into the timer would never be recorded until it was reset in this manner, and since this would occur without any rhyme or reason, you could never be 100% certain of recording anything. Also the display on the unit would often freeze, making it impossible to just glance at it to see where in your recording you were. The on-screen display was still useable, fortunately, but one day, this unit also suddenly lost all power, and when I reset it as described above, a bunch of indicators of other functions suddenly all lit up at once, a harbinger of worse news to come. Sure enough, the next time I put the unit in timer/standby mode was the last time it would ever operate again. (Incidentally, I rarely used the DVD, preferring the hard drive as the recording media, and always recorded at the highest quality, which was identical to watching live TV, although I could use all those hard drive functions that make a DVR such a pleasure--watch one program while recording another, pause live TV, instant replay, etc. When the machine worked, these features were fine. In addition, there was a built-in picture-in-picture feature, great for watching a recorded program while waiting for another to come on). It was only after all my negative experiences that I did some research on the internet and found that my problems were common. The reason most often given was a set of faulty capacitors, so if you are comfortable with opening home electronics, finding faulty components, removing them and soldering in replacements, you might have better luck with these units than I did. BTW, my research also revealed that Polaroid, like most American companies (especially electronic ones) does not manufacture these units, but merely licenses the name to some Chinese company. Finally, THERE IS NO CUSTOMER SUPPORT AT ALL. I tried calling several phone numbers that were supposed to be for customer support at Polaroid, and never got more than an automated answering system, where I could leave a message that was never answered. Ditto with email. If you add the cost of the inevitable repair in its future to your initial cost for the machine, you will not want to buy this machine, even if you can get it at the lowest price for any DVR. My recommendation is to bite the bullet and spend more for a different, more expensive machine. I don't guarantee that this will insure a happy recording experience, but I do guarantee that buying this (and probably any electronics) from Polaroid WILL ensure an UNHAPPY one.Read full review
I own a video production business and needed a way to record large video files in the field, then capture to my computer and be able to burn DVD's quickly. This recorder misses the mark in several ways. First, the user interface is cryptic at best. The manual is little help in this regard. The remote is poorly laid out with confusing labels beneath very tiny buttons. When you are in HDD mode, you should be able to simply hit "RECORD" and go. But the unit makes you verify that you did indeed wish to record to the HDD and not directly to a DVD even when there is no disk in the drive. On playback from the HDD, the on-screen display lingers for nearly half a minute, blocking the lower 20% of the picture from view. There is no way to turn this function off. Perhaps the worst problem is that when you copy a video file from HDD to DVD, there is no clear indication when the clumsy process is finished. The discs will play back on the Polaroid fine...but no other player or computer drive. I tried DVD+R, DVD-R, different brands, various settings, no use. That is a fatal flaw. The only glimmer in this gloomy scenario is that the picture quality is quite acceptable and there are plenty of options for connecting inputs and outputs. I will continue to use the unit strictly as a stand-alone HDD recorder and DVD player because quite frankly it would be too much trouble to return it, but I cannot recommend that anyone else purchase one.Read full review
These units were probably discontinued because of the entertainment community. I have purchased several used ones to keep one running continuously. It not only records to DVD but can take it from the hard drive in file format reducing real-time recording to minutes. This can also be done while recording and watching another recording all at the same time. Other media sources and features compliment this unit as well. My only complaints are I suggest a quality fan replacement first thing-- if you hear noise it is already cooking. I also found capacitors installed backwards on the power supply of one unit. I do not like the fact that the unit does not record the closed captioning to the DVD since I rely on that heavily for my hearing problem-- this is a bummer. However the closed captioning works from disks that have it on already. Otherwise, If you like to record constantly and want to reduce time making DVD's or just like the freedom of video on demand from the hard drive-- you can't beat it!Read full review
Likes: 1) This machine is packed with features: Analog and Digital tuners. The digital tuner can tune and hold channels better than the recent Philips and Magnavox models (I have a Magnavox H2080MW8) models. Discrete digital and analog tuner inputs allow you to accept analog cable and digital via an antenna at the same time. 2) The DVD recorder supports every recordable DVD format, except for the rare DVD-RAM format -- so no big deal there. 3) The ability to read MP4, MP3 and JPEG pictures from USB / Flash card input is nice -- as well as the ability to copy the USB / Flash contents to the hard drive of the recorder. 4) Spacious 160 GB hard drive that (according to reports) is easy to swap out for a larger one. Dislikes: 1) Fussy remote -- works but has trouble when aiming from an angle of greater than 30 degrees (not much). Buttons require a firm press to execute commands. I would recommend this: Get a learning universal remote, program it with the recorder's remote -- then remove the batteries from the recorder's remote and put it in a safe place. Why? becuase you will likely never find an exact replacement (Polariod's video business went belly up) -- and without it, the recorder is almost totally useless. 2) Noisy fan (athough, it might be possible to swap the fan with a quieter aftermarket model for all those tinkerers out there) Wishes: -Wish it had an electronic program guide (AKA TV GUIDE Onscreen) -- but that was ( and still is ) a rare feature for non-subscritpion based DVRs in the United states. -Wish it had bi-directional dubbing (i.e.: HDD - DVD and DVD - HDD). It can do HDD - DVD only, unlike the Magnavox / Philips models (that are still for sale new). Nice unit -- you won't find much better than this, thanks to draconian US copyright laws starting in 2007. Developement and sale of HDD DVD recorders to the US market basically ended in 2007. No Thanks To Congress!Read full review
I like that the hard drive can be expanded to a bigger size simply by pulling the smaller one out and replacing it. No programming necessary. I like that I can record several items and not have to worry about running out of "tape". The downside is that it takes awhile to get used to the programming and features. The remote is not a wide angle remote so you HAVE TO POINT it to the DVR exactly (I don't know why). But once you get a pretty good idea of how it works you're set and off you go. It records in ATV or DTV and cable. This is the 4th one for me and now 2 for my dad.
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